Thanksgiving is cool, Christmas is awesome (hell, we even have “Cliffmas” in the city of brother love), but the Phillies home opener is something that, to me, rivals the greatest days of the year. A holiday spent with more than 50,000 of your closest friends, some with less than no intention of actually watching the game, but all of whom contribute to one of the greatest home atmospheres in baseball.

Today, the newly named Miami Marlins bring their new skipper, Ozzie Guillen, and the beneficiaries of their offseason spending spree, Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, and Mark Buehrle to Philadelphia for the first time in 2012. A 72-win team just a season ago, this new look team from Miami has quickly become the media favorite to dethrone the Fightin Phils as NL East champions. And while none of us are ready to give up the title, we acknowledge that season shapes up to be more of a grind than in years past.

Cole Hamels was skipped in yesterday’s game three vs. Pittsburgh- a move some said was to split up the lefties (Cliff Lee and Hamels), but we all know that Cole was passed over to give him the distinction of taking the hill in the season’s home opener. That decision was an easy one. With a juiced-up (aka drunk and rowdy) crowd behind him, Hamels should no doubt be reminded why he does not want to leave Philadelphia. The hometown fans, starved for a winner, desperate for a parade, finally got what we so desired thanks in large part to this homegrown lefty, then a star in the making, now one of the most desired players in recent memory.

Hamels, a two-time All Star with career marks of 74-54, with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, is in his final year under contract (bet you didn’t know that yet…) will be very difficult to afford should he reach the Free Agent market after this season, as many baseball “experts” have said the Phillies don’t have a great chance to retain his services should a bidding war ensue.

And so today starts a new chapter in Cole Hamels’ Philadelphia story, perhaps the last chapter – but regardless of how that story ends, the bigger issue is the season at hand. The head-to-head battle for the 2012 NL East crown begins today!

Actually, I’ve been a partial season ticket holder since 2000, one of the worst seasons in Phillies history. I’ve been a fan since the early ’70s. So I think I’ve earned the right to bitch a little when they play like crap, which is what they’re doing right now.

The Phillies have played sneaky good pitchers… Anibal Sanchez is a decent pitcher. Karstens is underrated. Plus, the Phils are historically bad in Pittsburgh. Panic meter is fairly low but there are things I’m not happy about… Bullpen roles are still undefined, we don’t have a bona fide RBI guy and a 1B platoon is brutal. We need an identity…

Alright relax Tracey. I’m just saying don’t be so rough during game 4 of a long season. They can’t keep up this pace, it’s just law of averages…

Plus we’ve done terrible in April for the past decade now so I’m not surprised really. I do expect a move to be made though before June. I don’t know how RAJ will make it without pulling all of his hair out

The way they handled Brown has been a complete disgrace.
#1 prospect in baseball and now has little to no value in 12 months. Needed to play him or trade him a year ago.

RAJ is like a guy who is playing 1000 hands of poker and is dealt aces 1000 times and somehow after the 1000 hands hes down.

There is no salary cap. The phils dont have to over pay liek the NY teams. They are the best salary situation in sports. Yes they should contend every year.
While I still thnk they have a punchers chance this year. With the big 3 pitchers. Even next year they are toast. Sad to see a team implode. When it seems intentional.